2017–18 Washington Capitals season
The 2017–18 Washington Capitals season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974. They played their home games at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. They were led by head coach Barry Trotz in his fourth season as coach of the Capitals. The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in organization history, defeating the inaugural-season Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals. The team finished the regular season with 105 points, winning the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they lost the first two games of their first round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets before winning the next four games to advance to the Conference Semifinals against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who ended the Capitals' playoffs each of the previous two years. Caps beat Blue Jackets 6 3, advance to Eastern Conference Semifinals|website=wtop.com|access-date=June 8, 2018}} The Capitals defeated the Penguins in six games to advance the Eastern Conference Finals, their first trip to a conference championship series since 1998. The Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, after overcoming a 3-2 series deficit following a Game 5 loss for the first time in franchise history, to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The Capitals faced the first-year Vegas Golden Knights and defeated them in five games to earn the organization's first ever Stanley Cup, while becoming the 100th Stanley Cup champions since 1914. Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. Standings Divisional standings Conference standings Schedule and results Preseason The Capitals' preseason schedule was released on June 7, 2017. |} Regular season The team released its regular season schedule on June 22, 2017. |- valign="top" | November: 9–5–0, 18 points (Home: 7–2–0; Road: 2–3–0) |- valign="top" | December: 10–2–2, 22 points (Home: 8–0–0; Road: 2–2–2) |- valign="top" | January: 6–2–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–0–1) |- valign="top" | February: 6–6–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–4–1) |- valign="top" | March: 10–4–0, 20 points (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 5–3–0) |- valign="top" | April: 3–1–0, 6 points (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 2–0–0) |- ! |} Playoffs The Capitals endured hardships during their first successful Stanley Cup run through 24 games, and simultaneously became the second Stanley Cup champion to trail at least once in all four playoff rounds (1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins) and drop the first two games of the first series at home (2010–11 Boston Bruins). This also makes such run the third-longest Stanley Cup run, tied with four other runs. |- valign="top" | Eastern Conference Second Round vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins: Washington won 4–2 |- valign="top" | Eastern Conference Finals vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Washington won 4–3 |- valign="top" | Stanley Cup Finals vs. (P1) Vegas Golden Knights: Washington won 4–1 |- ! |} Player statistics Final Stats ;Skaters ;Goaltenders †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only. Transactions The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season. Trades Free agents acquired Free agents lost Claimed via waivers Lost via waivers Players released Lost via retirement Player signings Draft picks Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago. References Category:Washington Capitals seasons Washington Capitals Category:Eastern Conference (NHL) championship seasons Washington Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons